Evaluating
Mutual
Funds:
Merrill
Lynch
October
17,
2000
--
Mutual
Funds
offer
instant
diversification,
allowing
an
investor
to
own
a
piece
of
many
companies,
all
with
one
transaction.
But
with
over
5000
mutual
funds
to
choose
from,
what
criteria
should
people
use
to
pick
them?
"You
need
to
decide
what
your
objectives
first
and
foremost
are,"
said
Patricia
Bell
of
Merrill
Lynch.
"Are
you
looking
for
an
income
stream,
are
you
looking
for
a
growth
stream?
Do
you
have
a
three-year
time
horizon?
Do
you
have
a
five-year
time
horizon?
There
are
some
questions
that
you
need
to
ask
about
your
own
objectives
so
that
you
can
narrow
down
what
pool
you
want
to
look
at."
Analysts
say
that
not
only
should
investors
target
which
funds
may
be
right
for
them,
they
should
also
look
at
the
size
of
the
fund
as
well.
"One
question
I
always
like
to
ask
when
I'm
looking
at
mutual
funds
is
how
large
the
fund
is,"
Bell
said.
"Because
obviously
the
way
that
you
invest
a
fund
that's
with
a
hundred
million
dollars
and
the
way
you
invest
a
fund
that
has
50
billion
dollars...there
are
certain
opportunities
that
a
smaller
fund
can
take
advantage
of
that
a
large
fund
can't."
When
evaluating
mutual
funds,
you
have
to
decide
what
your
objectives
are.
Narrowing
down
the
possibilities
and
talking
to
your
financial
advisor
are
the
best
ways
to
choose
mutual
funds.
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